Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.
It’s a common metaphor: riding the technology wave. But of late, if feels more like a technology tsunami. As CIOs and CTOs scramble to comply with IT governance standards and replace aging ERP legacy systems, they must also confront an onslaught of new technology options like virtualization, SOA, SOBA, BPM and more.
The alignment risks are twofold: 1) becoming more enamored with the technology than the business needs require and 2) falling behind the curve and leaving the enterprise less competitive, agile and nimble. So for the CIO, getting it right is essential for all concerned.
Creating the ultimate/scalable infrastructure and delivering business-leveraging applications while keeping an eye toward the future is a daunting job for any CIO. Knowing which technologies are ready for primetime use and which ones are still on the horizon takes insight, research and a hype-resistant focus. While life tells us to live for today, the CIO must live for today, tomorrow and at least three years beyond.
The key to success in traversing this tsunami of technology is knowing:
where the business is going
the business’s temperament for change
where opportunities exist to better IT alignment and
understanding what business processes can be better streamlined
Mastery of this knowledge can shine a light on where the